MONITORING THE IMPACT OF MONITORING THE IMPACT OF DESALINATION PLANT DISCHARGE ON DESALINATION PLANT DISCHARGE ON

MARINE ENVIRONMENT: PROCEDURES & MARINE ENVIRONMENT: PROCEDURES & PROTOCOLSPROTOCOLS

P.K. Krishnakumar; Mohammed Qurban; Joydas & K.P. ManikandanCentre for Environment & Water, Research InstituteKing Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals,

Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS MONITORING?

A science-based tool that can detect and measure changes in the ecosystems (i.e., receiving environments) potentially affected by human activity (i.e., effluent discharges).

Required by law and helps to assess the adequacy of the effluent & discharge regulations for protecting the environment (Compliance).

An interactive system of monitoring to assess the effectiveness of environmental management measures.

An assessment tool to determine the sustainability of human activities on ecosystem health.

DESALINATION PLANT DISCHARGE

Discharge of hot brine with high salt concentration to the sea

Chemical additives and biocides in the discharge

Screening,FiltrationSeawater

Intake

Desalination Plant

DirectDischarge

Heat / Power

Addition of Chemicals(Anti-Scaling , Anti-

Foaming, Anti-Corrosion, Desinfection etc).

IMPACT ON RECEIVING WATER

Desalination Plant

Marine Environment

Discharge

Mixing Zone

Salinity increaseTemperature increaseDecrease in dissolved oxygen (DO)Toxicity (chlorine, trace metals etc.)

WHAT SHOULD THE STUDY EXAMINE?

FOCUS OF STUDY PARAMETERS STUDY FREQUENCY

Water QualityWater QualityEffluent Receiving Water

Temp., Salinity, pH, Dissolved Oxygen, Contaminants etc.

Real timeWeeklyMonthly

Sediment QualitySediment Quality Grain Size, Salinity,Contaminants etc.

MonthlySeasonal

Health of Marine OrganismsHealth of Marine OrganismsPlankton,Benthos etc.

Abundance, Biomass, Biodiversity etc.

MonthlySeasonal

Ecosystem HealthEcosystem HealthMangrove, Seagrass, Coral Reef, Fish & Fisheries etc.

% Live cover, Abundance, Biomass, Diversity etc.

SeasonalAnnual

BioaccumulationBioaccumulationInvertebrates (bivalves)Fishes

Trace metals, Biocides etc.

SeasonalAnnual

MONITORING STATION PATTERN- EXAMPLE

SHORE

Water CurrentWater Current

Coral ReefCoral Reef

SeagrassSeagrass SeagrassSeagrass

(Distance is not as per scale)

OUTFALL

Near FieldNear Field(Mixing Zone)(Mixing Zone)

Far FieldFar Field

1 23

6

7 8

13

5

4

9

10

11

12

14

15

Water/Sediment- StationsWater/Sediment- StationsEcological Study StationsEcological Study Stations

MONITORING- WATER QUALITY

Receiving Water Quality:•Temperature, •Salinity, •TDS, •Dissolved Oxygen, •pH, •Turbidity, •Contaminants (metals)

Effluent Quality: •Temperature, •Salinity, •TDS, •Dissolved Oxygen, •pH •Toxicity etc.

MONITORING- PLANKTONMONITORING- PLANKTON

PlanktonPhytoplanktonZooplankton

Productivity or Chlorophyll aAbundance, biomass & diversity

ZOOPLANKTONZOOPLANKTON

PHYTOPLANKTONPHYTOPLANKTON

USING PLANKTON NET

MONITORING- SEDIMENT & BENTHOSMONITORING- SEDIMENT & BENTHOS

Sediment qualityGrain sizeSalinityContaminants

Benthic OrganismsAbundanceBiomassBiodiversity

1 2

3 4

Sediment & Benthos Sampling Macro-Benthos

ECOSYSTEM MONITORINGECOSYSTEM MONITORING

Mangroves Seagrasses Coral reefs Salt Marshes

Health of EcosystemMangrovesSeagrassCoral ReefSalt Marsh, Lagoons etc.

Study components% Live CoverAbundanceBiomassBiodiversity etc.

ECOSYSTEM MONITORING Cont..ECOSYSTEM MONITORING Cont..

Long term & SeasonalLong term & SeasonalSCUBA DivingSnorkelingTransect SurveyBiotope mappingVisual InspectionSurvey using ROVs

SCUBA DivingSCUBA Diving

ROV

ROV

Reef FishReef Fish Reef FishReef Fish SeagrassSeagrass TurtleTurtle

MONITORING- FISH & FISHERIESMONITORING- FISH & FISHERIES

Experimental FishingTrends in fish catchFish abundance & biomassBiodiversityAdult-Juvenile ratioBioaccumulation

FishingFishing Fish CatchFish Catch ShrimpShrimp FishFish

Catch Sorting & Taking MeasurementsCatch Sorting & Taking Measurements

BIOACCUMULATION STUDY USING BIVALVES Deploy bivalves using net or cages near the marine outfall locations.After few months, remove & analyze the tissue for contaminants and assessing “Biomarkers” levels.

MusselsMusselsOystersOysters ClamsClams Using net for DeploymentUsing net for Deployment

Bivalve deployment designBivalve deployment design Removing bivalve tissue for analysisRemoving bivalve tissue for analysis

AUTOMATIC MONITORING USING BUOYS

Buoys typically consists of several components, including a buoy platform, data logger, solar power, telemetry equipment, mooring hardware, temperature string, sondes and various sensors.

It provides real time & continuous data on water quality.

Array of buoysArray of buoys

IMPORTANCE OF MONITORING STUDIESIMPORTANCE OF MONITORING STUDIES

Compliance Status: To find out whether conforming to the national/international standards or rules.

Environmental Risk Assessment: Identification of risks related to discharge for management actions.

Environmental Auditing: Performance evaluation of the plant.

Conservation and Protection: To conserve the marine living resources.

Social Commitment: Sustainable use of natural resources.

THANK YOUTHANK YOU